I was compiling this list with great sadness....Looking at my list from 2005 (when I saw over 50 concerts in one year), this is paltry and mainstream by comparison. I didn't travel as much this year as I normally do, which adds to the problem. Norfolk doesn't really get enough good touring bands to make me inspired, thus I foresee one of my New Year's Resolutions to be more trips to the 930. So here goes, again, with the disclaimer that my resources were severely limited this year...
My Top Ten Shows of 2009
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1. The Decemberists at The Norva (Fall 2009): The Hazards of Love definitively BLOWS MY MIND!! I love it and listen to it a lot...They played it in its entirety and track for track. It would swoop from indie-rock noise headbopping to WTF?!? lookatthatgirlonstagecrazycrazy!! The encore was a cover of Heart's Crazy on You. I'm crazy on them.
2. Muse at UVA (Fall 2009): They opened for U2. We paid nada surf for tickets and got there way early. We asked the security guard if we could walk to the front and he let us! I was so close to Bono I could see the buttons on his pants. However, Muse was the music. U2 was one of those bucket-list bands...Muse put on a fucking rock show. Saw Marcus from VB, whom I only see randomly and accidentally at large concerts in far away towns.
3. Roadside Graves at Taphouse (Summer 2009): We were sitting outside on a random Thursday. Bands don't normally play Thursdays at Taphouse. They started inside and we didn't go in. It started to rain after their first set. We asked the bouncer if we could go in without paying a cover because we were there to drink, not see this band. He said $1 and we agreed. And we regretted not going in the second they started playing. The Graves are in my top three newly-discovered bands of 2009...well worth more than that dollar.
4. Ralph Stanley at Roper Theater (Spring 2009): Dr. Ralph is a legend in my family. He runs in the same circles as my grandparents (apparently, anyway--I've heard this my whole life, but have never met the man). He's from where I'm from--an Appalachia so removed, it makes its urban expatriates cling together in weird fraternity knowing something mystic and desparate no one from the outside really understands. His voice is haunting and he is NOT simply the guy from O Brother Where Art Thou? My friend Matt Scruggs tagged along. He is distantly related to Dr. Ralph's sometimes collaborator Earl Scruggs and has a similar family folktale situation. It was fun to compare stories. We sat in the front and were the youngest people there. He is in his 80's, so didn't perform the entire time...but it was great to finally see him for myself.
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5. Kings of Leon at The Ted (Spring 2009): This wasn't my first KOL show, but it was my favorite so far. My Party felt like indie-rave rock and I DANCED and DANCED and DANCED. Hope to see them at the Norva sometime....the smaller the venue the better...
7. One at Mt. Trashmore's Earth Day (Summer 2009): This was bliss. My good friends Chris Ebarb and Ivan King have been messing around w/ Garage Band for years. They are two of the most talented people I know, but they never play out. Somehow they got the headlining gig for this. I'd spent the day at OBX and rushed back to Mt. Trashmore to see them...and they were SO GOOD! Very proud of my boys.
8. David Sedaris at Chrysler Hall (Fall 2009): I just started reading David Sedaris last year. I was already a fan of his sister, Amy, and my friend Liz gave me some books to check out. They were good/funny/etc. My friend Mo was getting married in October and we went to this as the bachelorette...He was super sweet to me and gave my bachelorette a condom from his pocket??
9. No Doubt at Va Beach Ampitheater (Summer 2009): Eh. I'm running low on culture at this point and dipping into the nostalgia bucket. I took my husband to this and yes, he was man enough to go without complaint (unlike douchebag boyfriend two rows behind us who complained to his girlfriend the entire time). It was a fun summer night...especially watching all the 7 year old girls on their mom's shoulders, both singing Just A Girl as loud as they could. Awww...rock-n-roll bonding mother-daughter bonding.
10. Coldplay at Va Beach Ampitheater (Summer 2009): Wish it had been Radiohead. But...it was nice of them to play a mini-set on the lawn. Most big bands don't cater to those of us who paid $10 and Coldplay did. This was still my least favorite show last year. They were cheesy and made mistakes...yet they were really good to their fans. It was worth $10. I wouldn't pay $20.
